Beyond Either-Or and Both-And: Polarity Management as a Key Tool to - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Beyond Either-Or and Both-And: Polarity Management as a Key Tool to Spark Collaboration and Deeper Engagement

Martín Carcasson, Ph.D. Director of the Center for Public Deliberation Professor, Department of Communication Studies Dedicated to enhancing local democracy through improved public communication and community problem solving EMAIL: mcarcas@colostate.edu Twitter: @mcarcasson CPD website: cpd.colostate.edu

Wicked problems inherently involve competing underlying values, paradoxes, and tradeoffs that cannot be resolved by science. .

Accessible High Quality

HEALTH CARE AS A WICKED PROBLEM

Low cost

Capitalism or Sustainability as a Wicked Problem

• The “Triple Bottom Line” of

– Profit (economics, also tied to jobs and taxes) – People (social justice, equality, fairness) – Planet (environment)

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to

• urselves and our Posterity, do ordain and

establish this Constitution for the United States

• f America.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure

domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure

the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Preamble Current Phrasing

Justice Justice Domestic Tranquility/ Common defense Security/Safety General Welfare Equality Liberty to ourselves Freedom (for us) Liberty for our posterity Freedom (for future generations)

Key American Values

Inherent Democratic Tensions

• Freedom and Equality (and between equality and equity)
• Our Freedom and Freedom of Future generations
• Freedom and Security
• Justice is a tension within itself (justice as the ideal between

too much and too little credit or punishment) Some others

• Short term and long term
• Individual rights and community good
• Unity and diversity
• Cooperation and competition
• Structure and agency (or opportunity and individual

responsibility)

• Flexibility/Innovation and Consistency/Tradition
• Best use of resources (money, time, people)

Wicked problems inherently involve competing underlying values, paradoxes, and tradeoffs that cannot be resolved by science. They call for ongoing high quality communication, creativity, and broad collaborative action to manage well. .

What We Are Learning from Brain Science

The Problematic We crave certainty and consistency We are suckers for the good v. evil narrative We strongly prefer to gather with the like minded We filter & cherry pick evidence to support our views We avoid values dilemmas, tensions, and tough choices

Freedom Security Addressing Key Tensions

Polarized: “I am for security, you are anti-security (i.e. pro-terrorism)” vs. “I am for freedom, you are anti-freedom (i.e. pro-long lines)”

Freedom Anti-freedom Security Anti-security

All Security No Freedom All Freedom No Security Balance Security and Freedom Freedom > Security Security > Freedom

Aristotle’s Theory

• f Virtues

Aristotle defined a virtue as “a mean between two vices, that which depends on excess and that which depends on defect…virtue both finds and chooses that which is intermediate”

Aristotle’s Virtues

Cowardice  ------------------------Courage------------------------  Recklessness Lack of ambition  ------------(Ideal ambition) ---------------- Excess of ambition Apathy  ---------------------------Gentleness--------------------------- Short temper Grouchiness  --------------------Friendliness-------------------- Flattery Self-depreciation  --------------Truthfulness-------------- Boastfulness Injustice  ----------------------------Justice---------------------------- Injustice (gives more and receives less (gives less and than one’s due) receives more than one’s due)

Polarity Management

Polarity Management

Barry Johnson

The Case for Consistency The Case for Flexibility

Dependable, Clarity, Allowing comparisons, Tradition, Principled, Fair, Just, Reliable, Steady, Standards, Measurability Innovation, Adaption, Individuality, Creativity, Outside the Box thinking, Pragmatic, Thinking on your feet

Polarity Management

The Case for Consistency The Case for Flexibility Dependable, Clarity, Allowing comparisons, Tradition, Principled, Fair, Just, Reliable, Steady, Standards, Measurability Innovation, Adaption, Individuality, Creativity, Outside the Box thinking, Pragmatic, Thinking on your feet When Consistency dominates Flexibility … When Flexibility dominates Consistency ... Dogmatic, Stubborn, Unaccommodating, Stiff, Simplistic, Stuck in the past, Uninspired, Rigid, Soul- sucking, Obstinate Wishy-washy, Ambiguous, Inconsistent, Erratic, Untrustworthy, Irregular, Unreliable

The Case for Consistency The Case for Flexibility Dependable, Clarity, Allowing comparisons, Tradition, Principled, Fair, Just, Reliable, Steady, Standards, Measurability Innovation, Adaption, Individuality, Creativity, Outside the Box thinking, Pragmatic, Thinking on your feet When Consistency dominates Flexibility … When Flexibility dominates Consistency ... Dogmatic, Stubborn, Unaccommodating, Stiff, Simplistic, Stuck in the past, Uninspired, Rigid, Soul- sucking, Obstinate Wishy-washy, Ambiguous, Inconsistent, Erratic, Untrustworthy, Irregular, Unreliable,

The Case for __________ The Case for __________ When _______dominates _______ When _____dominates ____

Polarity Management Worksheet

The Case for Activism/Protest The Case for Civility/Dialogue When activism/protest dominates too much When civility/dialogue dominates too much

Polarity Management Worksheet

Steps in the Basic Exercise

• Polarity or tension is identified and named
• In groups, brainstorm the positives for each end of the

polarity one at a time, making the best possible case

• Groups then complete the out of balance problematic

alternatives

• Groups can then potentially combine or compare their

work

• Conversation can then focus on responding to the

tension

Responding to Key Tensions

• Recognize tension, still prefer one side while accepting

the tradeoffs. That preference may be purposefully short-term, with a corresponding focus on nimbleness

• Recognize tension, seek balance (which may mean

moving in one direction or the other, seeking compromise)

• Recognize tension, seek to transcend or integrate

tension through innovation (seeking win-win)

• Recognize tension, allow different groups to seek

alternative ends

• Disagree with tension

Inherent Democratic Tensions

• Freedom and Equality (and equality and equity)
• Our Freedom and Freedom of Future generations
• Freedom and Security
• Justice is a tension within itself (justice as the ideal between

too much and too little credit or punishment)

Some others

• Short term and long term
• Individual rights and community good
• Unity/common ground and diversity
• Cooperation and competition
• Structure and agency (or opportunity and individual

responsibility)

• Flexibility/Innovation and Consistency/Tradition
• Best use of resources (money, time, people)

PM and CPD processes

• Superintendent search (strong leader and

collaborator)

The Case for Strong Leader The Case for Leader who listens to all voices Gets things done, makes tough choices, moves

• rganization forward quickly

Gives respect to people at all levels, thoughtful, inclusive, careful judgment, brings people together When Strong leaders dominate too much… When Listeners dominate too much… Act as dictators, alienate

• thers, hasty decisions often

flawed, too reliant on narrow voices and perspectives Wishy-washy, unable to make tough decisions, paralysis by analysis, too focused on relationships over action

PM and CPD processes

• Superintendent search (strong leader and

collaborator)

• Local food cluster (top down and bottom up)
• Neighborhood associations (formal and informal)
• Local church on gay rights issue (truth and grace)
• Elementary school – flexibility and consistency

David Zarefsky, Ph.D. Former Dean of Northwestern School

• f Communication

Rhetoric’s responsibilities have been enlarged in our time. We face such complex predicaments that we need all the rhetorical resources we can get. Our tasks include reconciling unity and diversity, individualism and community, nationalism and global citizenship, liberty and equality, quality and quantity, faith and doubt, the present and the future. None of these pairs consists of opposites in the logical sense; they are not in principle irreconcilable. But they are inherent tensions and often seem to work at cross purposes. Articulating how they can work together, how we can get the best of both, or how we can transcend the tension, is the task of a responsible rhetoric.” (19-20)

In the end…

• Move from a simple EITHER-OR
• Past a more complicated but still rather

simply BOTH-AND

• And struggle with the realities of BOTH-

AND-BUT HOW?